Categories

Getting arrested for DWI was a nightmare. I really appreciate you guys always taking the time to explain everything to me and answering all of my questions. Knowing what was going on with my case every step of the way made me feel a lot better. Thank you.

A recent audit of Lewis County addressed some irregularities
in the prosecutor’s office there.

According to an audit report of Lewis County released last
Friday by Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway, several recommendations were
made for the Prosecuting Attorney, Sherriff, Public Administrator, and
others. The overall rating given the
County was “fair.”

One recommendation was a need for accounting controls and
procedures for the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office when it comes to their
policies for amending traffic tickets.
Prosecutors are allowed to amend charges to if the person is willing to
perform community service or make a contribution to a not-for-profit
organization. For example, in 2017, some
400 traffic tickets were amended to less severe or non-moving violations. From those tickets, some $52,000 was given to
not-for-profits, which included more than $44,000 given to a not-for-profit
founded by the Prosecuting Attorney.

The audit indicated that Missouri’s constitution only allows
proceeds of all penalties, fines and forfeitures to be given to the County
School Fund. Apparently this practice of
requiring contributions to amend tickets has since stopped.

As to the Sherriff’s Department, the audit found that it had
deposited $132,500 for bonds into the office’s fee bank account. However, it
found insufficient controls and procedures related to recording the bond money
and certain aspects surrounding receipts.
The same condition was noted back in the 2015 audit.

The auditor’s report noted that since the previous audit in 2015, some improvements had been made while others continued to persist.